Posts for Eddie Alvarez

The Kensington native was fighting Dustin Poirier in a much-anticipated 155 pound rematch, 14 months after we were left with a “no contest” decision in the first go-round after Alvarez landed illegal knees while Poirier was grounded. That brought to a complete halt one of the better fights I had seen at that point in 2017.

So it was disappointing this weekend when Eddie, holding an advantageous full mount position and looking strong in round two, broke the rules again, this time throwing a pair of “12-6” elbows that caught Poirier on the shoulder:

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

See how the elbow is coming straight down in that photo? That’s called a “12 to 6” because if you think about a clock, you go straight from 12 to reach 6. It’s illegal in MMA. All elbows have to be thrown from an angle and can’t be thrown vertically like that.